It has been a long week of regular life getting in the way of getting this first one finished. But I made some progress. Sheet Metal is no longer an issue, or a concern. I have figured out how to weld it and it is no longer scary. It involves a lot of little tiny welds. even smaller than tacks. I am going to record a video when I skin the chute door.

This week has been filled with the trials and tribulations of cutting and welding 45s. I think I wasted 2 sticks worth of square tubing trying to get the chute doors acceptable. I think I have it figured out now, but unfortunately it prevented me from having this smoker done this weekend as I now have to wait until Monday to get a couple sticks of tube.

I did however get a jig made and the ash box frames turned out pretty good.

I was then able to produce flat frames that when stacked on top of another frame, would show some resemblance of actually being able to seal and be air tight.

Skinned it with the new sheet metal process and this is the product of hundreds of trigger pulls.

*** Helpful Hint ***Square tubing has a welded seam on it. Ensure when you are cutting your steel, that you keep track of that seam, and that you plan on that seam never being on a face that you are going to weld when it comes to these frames. That face of the tube is uneven and makes for a hell of a time grinding smooth. In fact some tube you cannot get smooth.

In the end, I got it ground down, marked and drilled for the Rivnuts and welded the Hinges on. I originally planned on the door being removable, but after welding the hinges in place I realized I did not leave enough space between the hinges to remove the door.

With the door ready to be permanently attached, I decided to work on getting the firebox cavity insulated. My concern was that I would put insulation in the frame opening, weld the skin on, and then the insulation could work itself out of the frame after years of use. I decided to add a little flat bar to the openings to serve as a back stop for the insulation.

This will also allow us to stuff any trash around the shop into that cavity... just kidding... maybe. Almost like a Time Capsule.

Another thing that got in my way this week was a trip to Discada Nirvana. I picked up a plow blade and hope to start a Discada build soon. =)

Well enough craziness for today. Time to get washed up and take the wife out for a date night. I guess I will have to buy a Pork Butt this week though. It is nearly time to break this bad boy in.